Wednesday, May 16, 2018

When
I was young, my father used to ask questions about Sam Hill. “Who the
Sam Hill is that?” Or “What the Sam Hill is going on?” My brothers and
sisters always wondered who Sam Hill was ... asking Who the Sam Hill is
Sam Hill?

I
thought I found the answer one time while visiting downtown Prescott,
Arizona, when I saw a store called Sam Hill’s. But I think the
definitive answer comes from the All Access Music Group, AllAccess.Com, a website dedicated to the music and radio industry.

“That leaves an opening for middays on ALICE.” Interested persons are asked to click a link “if you'd like to fill it.”

The mystery is solved.

New Knee

Saul
Levine, the amazing independent radio station operator who owns KKGO
(105.1 FM) and KSUR (1260 AM) is recovering from knee replacement
surgery. I send wishes for a full and fast recovery.

Rumors
are running wild that some tweaks will be made to the formats on the
secondary HD channels available through KKGO as well as KKJZ (88.1 FM),
which Levine operates under contract from the CSULB Foundation. No
details yet but I am told that the tweaks should be well-received.

Bonus!

As
two of the three largest radio ownership groups, iHeart and Cumulus,
make their way through bankruptcy and continue cutting costs, positions
and their future viability, the top executives of both companies
continue to receive huge amounts of money in regular salary compensation
and bonuses.

Bonuses?
Yes, bonuses. They can’t run a company to save their lives, but the top
executives of both companies received huge bonuses as the companies
they run go down the proverbial toilet.

iHeart’s compensation board authorized billions in bonuses for CEO Bob
Pittman, COO Richard Bressler, and General Counsel Robert Walls for each
quarter of 2018; the CEO of Cumulus, Mary Berner, netted $3.8 million
in bonuses last year. All of this made me realize that they really do
have the wrong people running those companies ... I could run each
company into the ground much cheaper.

Bustany Passes

The last living co-creator of American Top-40, Don Bustany, passed away in late April at the age of 90.

Bustany,
along with Tom Rounds, Casey Kasem, and Ron Jacobs, launched American
Top-40 on July 4, 1970. Originally airing on just a handful of stations,
AT40’s affiliate list eventually grew to hundreds of stations
nationwide and around the world. Kasem hosted until 1988 when Shadoe
Stevens took over; Stevens hosted until the program was cancelled by its
distributor in 1995.

Kasem re-launched the countdown show in 1998; Ryan Seacrest has been hosting the program since 2004.

You
can hear recordings of the ‘70s version of AT40 on SiriusXM Satellite
Radio Saturdays at 9 a.m., Sundays at 6 a.m. and Sundays at 9 p.m. on
Channel 7.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Dave
Beasing isn’t your normal radio guy. He spent ten years designing and
programming The Sound (now KQLZ, 100.3 FM) and developing it into a
ratings leader. Previous experience had him working with radio stations
nationwide as a consultant with Jacobs Media, and he programmed KYSR
(and its predecessor KXEZ) before the current alternative format.

He’s
always been an innovator, looking for ways to push the medium forward
while recognizing its history. At The Sound he knew the importance of
social media and websites as extensions of stations, and he made TheSoundLA.com
into one of the most visited station websites in town. The Sound was
more than a station, he explained to me long ago, it was a full brand of
entertainment designed especially for Los Angeles.

So with a long history of success with radio programming, consulting and innovating, what’s he doing now?

Podcasts.

Podcasts? Yes, podcasts. The anti-radio.

Borrowing
on his experience putting content on his own station website as well as
on Facebook and more, Beasing has produced all types of podcasts. More
recently he moved into a new field: branded podcasting, designed to be a
part of a brand’s marketing. Think infomercial, but better - designed
to be interesting enough to compel people to download and subscribe.

He
recently had one of his podcasts -- nameless, due to the wishes of the
company behind it -- debut toward the top of the podcast chart with
thousands of subscribers. But Beasing is very happy with the success.
Marketing, after all, is in his blood and is one of the reasons The
Sound was such a success. Beasing knew that the most successful stations
throughout history were not only well-programmed, they were well
marketed.

I am having withdrawal symptoms ... dry mouth, can’t sleep ... due to the sudden shutdown of ReelRadio.Com, the virtual museum of classic top-40 radio stations. Here you once found recordings of stations dating back to the 1920s.

The
founder of the site, Richard Irwin shut-down the site, hopefully
temporarily, due to health issues. Posted on his Twitter page and
reposted on the Fans of ReelRadio Facebook page, Irwin wrote, “REELRADIO
will be taking a break until my body is healed. My hands may be broken
but my heart is thankful for all the support over 22 years. Thank You!”

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Big Birthday

I
missed this one - KNX (1070 AM) just celebrated 50 years as an all news
station, having launched the format way back on April 15, 1968.

But that’s not all. May 4th marked the 96th birthday of KNX itself, or at least since the station adopted the KNX call letters.

The
station had its genesis as Fred Christian’s amateur station 6ADZ, which
went on the air on September 20, 1920 at 1500 AM. It moved to 833 AM
and shared time as KCG with other stations by government decree that
made all local stations use the same frequency and broadcast different
hors of the day.

Power
increased to 50 watts on May 4, 1922 when it became KNX, a far cry from
the 50,000 watts it broadcasts with today from a transmitter site off
of 190th Street in Torrance. It became a CBS-owned station in 1938 and
stayed with CBS until it was sold to Entercom last year.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Perhaps
it is statistically insignificant, but it must be a nice feeling for
the staff of KOST (103.5 FM) that the station finally led the Los
Angeles ratings outside of the holiday music season. It happened in the
March Nielsen ratings released in late April when KOST jumped more than a
half point from February (to 5.9 from 5.3) and former leader and sister
station KBIG (104.3 FM)dropped almost a half point (to 5.7 from 6.1).

Rounding
the top five were KRTH at 5.0 and a fourth-place tie between KIIS-FM
(102.7) and KTWV at 4.7; each rating is an estimate of the average
percentage of radio listeners aged 6 and over tuned to a station between
the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight.

KFI
(640 AM) was the top-rated AM station, coming in 6th place with a 4.2
share. The next closest AM was KNX (1070), which was 10th at 3.2. After
that you have to look pretty far for another station from the oldest
broadcast band: KRLA (870 AM) was 29th with a 1.1, just ahead of KSPN
(710 AM) which tied KLYY (97.5 FM) for 30th with a share of 1.0.

As
already listed, KIIS-FM was the top-rated hit music station, competitor
Amp Radio KAMP (97.1 FM) was almost two full points behind at 2.9.
Power 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) was slightly below that at 2.6 but did manage
to stay above its direct competition Real 92.3, which earned a 2.4.

The
top-rated alternative station in town was Alt 98.7 KYSR but just by a
hair: Alt’s 2.4 tie with Real was enough to stay above KROQ’s (106.7 FM)
2.2.

It
was not a good month for country music ... Go Country KKGO (105.1 FM)
was down a half point to 2.0 compared with February. This actually makes
me think that the March ratings month has a few problems, as the
station has been averaging much higher for the past year. I do know that
a few changes in the way Nielsen’s Portable People Meters are
distributed can have a huge effect on ratings, showing more than
anything that the system is inherently flawed. Unfortunately its the
best we have right now.

KPCC
(89.3 FM) was down slightly from from the 3.0 share it had in February,
but the April 2.7 gave it a full 1 point lead above KCRW (89.9 FM) and
bragging rights to being the most popular noncommercial station in town.

Frightening fact: The top-two radio companies, iHeart Media and Entercom, command 48.5 percent of the radio audience.

Bean Back

Gene
Ryder, aka Bean on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean Show, was back on the air as
of last Monday. While he was off the air, rumors were circulating that
he was taking a leave of absence in part to protest pay cuts and related
issues. Personally I hope that is true. Regardless, it’s nice to have
him back.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

If
you have an HD Radio -- a special radio designed to receive and decode
the special digital audio programming sent along with the regular analog
radio signal -- you may have noticed that KKGO (105.1 FM) has been
sending a total of four digital streams.

In
addition to the regular HD1 stream that, like all HD stations,
duplicates the analog programming, KKGO has long been providing an HD2
(simulcast of 1260 AM’s LA Oldies K-Surf) and and HD3 (recently changed
to classic country). But for the past two weeks or so, there has been an
HD4, which as of this writing is a second simulcast of the Go Country
analog programming.

Station owner Saul Levine made mention recently of the fact that stations broadcasting the HD system can have more than the traditional two or three extra sub-stations. But he didn’t say much else on the subject.

Now
it appears he’s got something planned. And unlike other HD4 streams I
have heard, this one audio-wise sounds more than decent. Levine’s
engineers must be working a bit of magic here, as the more HD streams
you add, the lower the audio quality as you are splitting a finite
amount of digital data.

Levine is tight-lipped about his plans. Could standards return? Big bands? Heavy metal?

Audio Magic

I
had a chance to hear 1260 in HD last Friday when I attended a Pacific
Pioneer Broadcasters luncheon at the Sportsman’s Lodge in Studio City.
All I can say is “wow.” The station sounds phenomenal in HD, and I
thought the AM sounded better than the simulcast on the FM stream
mentioned above. Clean and full-fidelity. And in stereo.

Pioneers

The
Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters is a group of radio and television
broadcasters (or a related field) with at least ten years experience
related to radio or television. I am, of course, not worthy of
membership as I just write about radio, but the organization took pity
on me and let me join anyway due to my 31 years writing this column.

Founded
in 1966, the PPB hosts four luncheons per year celebrating and honoring
member achievements. April 20 was devoted to television’s Rich Little
who can impersonate almost anyone flawlessly; June 1st will honor Lonnie
Anderson who among other things was one of the stars of television’s
WKRP in Cincinnati, a fictitious station to which those connected to
radio can relate.

Through
June 30th, the PPB is waiving the initiation fee for new members, a $50
savings. If you or someone you know meets the requirements for
membership, consider joining. Go to ppbwebsite.org and click on Join PPB.

The New Sound

Reader Fred Weidman found a new sound ... down under,!

“Enjoy your column always. Also miss The Sound. There is another alternative.

“On
TuneIn radio I can listen to stations all over the world. Turns out
there is “The Sound” in Auckland New Zealand, which shares the same
format (same ownership??); 10 @ 10, vinyl, etc. Great DJs, with a bit of
an accent, and interesting commercials. I believe you can stream it
too, but TuneIn works very well.”

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

One
of the real treats of listening to KRTH (101.1 FM) in years past was
the mid-day shift hosted by Brian Beirne, known to his many fans as “Mr.
Rock and Roll.”

He gave himself that nickname -- it’s a registered trademark -- after listeners told him he should call himself “Mr. Something,”
but it relates to the fact that he is a walking encyclopedia of early
rock and roll music, the artists who recorded the songs, and the
producers who put it all together.

For many years, Beirne was
KRTH. His show was among the top-rated at the station and he was the
voice of the station during much of his tenure while it was owned by RKO
Radio (a name I’d like to bring back when I buy my first station ...
But I digress).

Listening
to Beirne, much like listening to his contemporary Johnny Hayes on
competing KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM), was akin listening to the curator of
an audio museum. He brought meaning to the music, told background
stories on songs and the meaning of lyrics, and brought artists into
your home as friends. No wonder he spent 29 years at the station until
he retired in December of 2004 ... one of the longest single-station
tenures in the history of radio.

Since
he left radio, Beirne has spent his time as a promotor of concerts by
artists of the early rock era ... the same music he played in his early
days at KRTH .. through his company Legendary Shows.

Earlier
this week I received an email from Mr. Rock and Roll. “I wanted to
share with you and your readers a special evening I am doing May 17 at
the Candlelight Pavilion in Claremont,” he wrote.

And
what a show it is. May 17 at the Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theater at
455 West Foothill Blvd. in Claremont, Beirne will tell the stories of
his life as a Rock and Roll disc jockey, intimate and personal stories
of artists, the history and evolution of the music he played, and
first-hand stories from artists he knows personally. I imagine that will
include the story of the time when John Lennon and Ringo Starr called
in to his show on KRTH to request a song. Yes, they did.

Tickets are on sale now. Call 909-626-1254, extension 1.

Sound Playlist

Reader David Alpern checked in with a nice internet link.

“Knowing how much you enjoyed 100.3 The Sound - here is something I have been using at times to access the station’s music.

What
is “it?” A Spotify playlist of the final Sound A-Z as heard during the
final weeks on the late-great classic rock station programmed by Dave
Beasing. The Sound dropped classic rock for syndicated Christian rock
(and few listeners) in November.

The
playlist includes almost 2000 songs and is -- theoretically, at least
... I have not verified -- exactly the same songs in the same order that
were played as the station wound down ten years of existence. In order,
every song from A to Z. Styx’ A.D. 1928 (which sounds awkward without Rockin’ the Paradise) to U2’s Zooropa

You need a Spotify account to access the full list and the music.

Bell Passes

Art
Bell, the architect of the syndicated overnight radio program that
focussed on UFOs, conspiracy theories and the paranormal, died April
13th at the age of 72 at his home in Nevada.

His show started as a local political talk program on KDWN/Las Vegas in 1978. First called West Coast AM, the
program changed focus and name to what it is now about ten years later
and as it moved into syndication with affiliates nationwide, including
KFI (640 AM) locally.

He retired from and returned to Coast to Coast or later offshoots numerous times.

No
cause of death was given, pending the results of an autopsy. Fitting
with the nature of the show he launched and hosted for so long, one
reader emailed, “he’s not truly dead. He’s just watching us from a radio
studio flying overhead.”

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

He
only spent a sort time in Los Angeles, but a staple of the post-Drake
success of RKO top-40 radio stations has died. John Mack Flannigan spent
part of 1975 at KHJ (930 AM) but quickly moved to KFRC/San Francisco
where he entertained the Bay Area for years and quickly became one of
KFRC’s top personalities.

Airchecks can be found on YouTube and -- if you are fortunate enough to have access -- on ReelRadio.Com.
Flannigan was the epitome of the format’s success. Smooth,
quick-witted, solid. It was the talent of the likes of Flannigan that
helped make KFRC and KHJ among the most popular music stations in the
country.

A
member of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame and National Radio DJ Hall of
Fame, Flannigan passed away from congestive heart failure on March
31st.

Bean Update

As
mentioned in this paper last week, KROQ (106.7 FM) morning co-host Gene
“Bean” Baxter has been off the air for the past few weeks. There is
still no update on his condition or when he plans to return.

In case you missed it, Baxter is on medical leave, leaving the following message on the Kevin and Bean Show Facebook page:

Kevin and Bean have been a popular staple of Los Angeles radio mornings for decades.

Alive and Well

Jim Ladd posted on his Facebook page that he is indeed “alive and well”

“Hello
to EVERYONE checking in on social media!,” he wrote March 13. “I know
you have been wondering where I am so let me say...I will be back on air
real soon and will post the date and announce show returning on Deep
Tracks same bat-time, same bat-channel”

Imus Walks

Longtime
JJ and talk host Don Imus may not have wanted to leave his show --
cutbacks at beleaguered Cumulus brought on the demise of his contract --
but he actually left on his own terms.

After
a monologue that included a recap of his career and thanks to his
listeners, he abruptly left the studio, making the station run best-of
segments for the last three hours of his four-hour show.

Correction

“Old
news,” says KFI (640 AM) news director Chris Little. “We reverted to
our full bandwidth about 3 years ago when we did away with the in-band
on-channel (IBOC) system on KFI.”

Little
was referring to a small line in last week’s mention of KFI’s birthday,
in which I stated that KFI is still limiting the frequency response of
its signal even after dropping the digital HD system.

Impossible,
I responded. I don’t hear the splatter of the analog signal onto 630 or
650 AM. And it still doesn’t sound full on my better radios.

Then
he reminded me ... years ago as a way to “improve AM radio,” a
broadcast standards group adopted rules that called for limited analog
frequency response of AM stations to help minimize cross-channel
interference.

This
limit set by the NRSC - National Radio Systems Committee -- limited
analog radio to a 10 kHz maximum bandwidth. Still much better than many
radios, but a far cry from the old standard that allowed 20 kHz. Of
course most AM radio barely pass anything past 4 kHz anyway, which is
why most people think AM sounds so bad.

Regardless,
I pulled out my GE Super Radio and ... Little is right. KFI sounds
pretty darn good. A little harsh due to some unrelated processing
designed to help the ratings system “hear” the station correctly. But
much better than I thought, and I stand corrected.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Country music star Trisha Yearwood has launched a new show on SiriusXM’s Garth Channel 55. Entitled Trish’a Take 5 the concept has Trisha picking four songs related to a chosen theme, then will let listeners pick the last song of the five.

The debut program April 2nd featured the theme “autopilot,” and the songs included Little Red Corvette by (country superstar???) Prince and Fast Car by Tracy Chapman. Obviously the program will not be exclusive to country artists.

The
program will air Mondays at 2 PM (Pacific time), then repeat Wednesdays
at 10 a.m., Fridays at 6:00 a.m., Saturdays at noon and Sundays at 5:00
pm.

Stagecoach

Go
Country 105.1 FM is keeping traditional (local) call-in contests alive;
ending Sunday April 8 they are expected to give away 36 passes to the
Stagecoach country music festival to the designated caller each time the
contest runs during the past week.

The
Inland Empire’s K-Frog (91.5 FM) is doing something similar, offering
passes to designated callers between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
through April 22nd.

I commend both stations for using an easy, simple contest to hook listeners; I am surprised so few stations do this any more.

The
concert will be held in Indio during the weekend of April 27-29, and
includes such artists as Garth Brooks, Keith Urban, Florida Georgia
Line, Jake Owen, Kacey Musgraves, Lee Brice, Ashley McBryde, and many
more.

Promotion

Longtime
KFI (640 AM) Bill Handle Show producer Michelle Kube has moved up in to
a new position: Executive Producer for the entire station. Replacing
her in the morning producer spot is Alex Razo.

Kube
has been with KFI 24 years; 23 of those connected in some way with
Handle. Her new duties will be overseeing every show -- host and
producer. That’s a lot of ego-balancing, and I wish her well!

Anniversary

KFI itself has something to celebrate: it is about to begin its 97th year of broadcasting.

It
was March 31, 1922 when KFI officially received it’s license to
operate; the station went on the air a couple weeks later on April 16.
It is said that the original broadcasts were more of owner and founder
Earle C. Anthony yelling “can you hear me” into a microphone; radio was
in its infancy and few owned radios at the time.

Due
to very little sources of man-made interference in the early days of
broadcasting, KFI’s original 50-watt transmitter could be heard quite
far at night. Today, with more interference but 50,000 watts, the
station can be heard all the way to Fresno during the day and through
much of the Western United States at night.

At
one time the station sounded beautiful in analog AM stereo and later
through digital HD Radio, but more recently the HD was turned off, the
frequency bandwidth was reduced and other technical adjustments mandated
by owner iHeart have given the signal a grainy harsh sound. But it’s
still one of America’s most power radio stations! It would be fun to
hear an on-air biography of the station.